


The Art of Getting Ghosted and Getting Ghosts

by wretched_cynosure



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Ghost Hanamaki Takahiro, Ghost Kageyama Tobio, Ghost Matsukawa Issei, Ghost Ushijima Wakatoshi, Inconsistent update schedule probably, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some of the characters are ghosts, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27293761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wretched_cynosure/pseuds/wretched_cynosure
Summary: Oikawa Tooru is a strange kid, always has been. He's lonely and he's a little tired of his day to day life. The only thing he'd want is to make a living friend. Iwaizumi isn't the most willing candidate, but he likes Oikawa's nephew and is a little bored of his own life, so why not come along for the adventure? They work together and figure out a few things about leaving things behind and valuing what they have left. Don't forget the spirits that carry the majority of the adventure on their backs.Or.Oikawa Tooru is kind of a big collage of disasters and Iwaizumi has got some drama going on. They are aided in their adventures by a cast of ghosts that probably don't help as much as they think they do.
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro & Oikawa Tooru, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio & Oikawa Tooru, Matsukawa Issei & Oikawa Tooru, Oikawa Tooru/Stability, Ushijima Wakatoshi & Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Jinkies! The monsters took my small child!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intro to a story about Oikawa being a little bit of a prick. Sweet, sweet exposition indeed.

Tooru has always been told to respect his elders no matter what. To this, Tooru says that respect is earned and shouldn't be inherent. And this is not him just being an insolent teen, he's learned from experience that old doesn't equal wise.

“Do you think we could eat cauliflower because it's basically ghost broccoli?” Matsukawa asks as he floats above Tooru’s computer.

Exhibit A.

“Bro, cauliflower is disgusting. Why would you ever want to eat the shit? I'd rather try to kill a ghost cow and see if we can eat it,” Hanamaki calls from Tooru’s collection of volleyball magazines across the room.

Exhibit B.

“Please don't kill my cow,” Ushijima speaks as he observes Tooru’s screen.

And exhibit C.

“Can you guys all shut the fuck up? I’m writing my paper to get into Seijoh.” He drags his hand through his hair and bangs his head against his desk.

“Oh come on, you'll get in anyway. Your mother is the CEO of a sports company and your father is a widely respected historian and archaeologist,” Mattsun points out.

“I wouldn't get in if I keysmash my entire essay.”

Makki floats over to half unpacked Tooru’s workspace and squints at his notes. “What's your essay supposed to be on anyways?”

“The most influential people in my life.” Which should be an easy question for most, considering most people have friends and family and grandparents. But no. Oikawa doesn't have any friends, his parents rarely check in on his personal life, his sister had always wanted to get away from their family, and his only living grandparent is 7 hours away. In conclusion, Oikawa Tooru doesn't have people. Instead, he has ghosts.

“You should write in 'Miku Binder Thomas Jefferson.’ That scarred you for life when you were first getting on the internet,” Makki suggests.

Mattsun cackles and sinks to Makki and Ushijima’s level. “Glad to see some respect on the name.”

Fucking stupid ghosts at that.

He puts his face in his hands and groans. “I wish I didn't show you guys that.”

The two high five and snicker. “Too late now, Tooru.”

“If you don't quiet down, I'll get the sage again.” He turns and makes sharp eye contact with both of the fools. “We all know what happened to Tobio.”

They quickly quiet down and gulp nervously. Kageyama had been bugging Tooru to practice volleyball a couple of days ago, even though the little shit roach knew that he had way too much homework to practice. Long story short, Oikawa had broken out the sage and cleansed Tobio from his life. It would only last a day more at most, but maybe (hopefully) he’d be too afraid to show his face again.

“Who are you choosing?” Ushiwaka’s voice rumbles right next to Tooru’s ear.

Oikawa jumps in his chair and looks at the dead farmer, scandalized. “You gotta stop doing that.”

“I'm sorry,” he replies in a very unapologetic tone, “You didn't answer my question, though.”

“Grandmother.”

Matsukawa scoffs and goes back to floating above Tooru. “She died seven years ago. And you haven't even seen her in ten!” 

Tooru deadpans at the spirit above him. “You died twenty years ago.”

“But you see me everyday.”

“I wish I didn't,” Tooru mutters, “Even so, if I write that a ghost is my most influential person, I’m sure I’ll get a great reception from my teachers and the mental health specialists they contact.”

Makki swings his arm around Tooru’s shoulder. “That's the spirit! Now write about how funny and great we all are.”

Oikawa stands up. “That's it, I’m getting the sage.”

“Oh shit.” Is the last thing he hears before both of his unliving idiots sink through the floor. He turns to look at Ushiwaka who is now laying on the ground.

“Aren't you going to leave?” He sighs before reaching for his bowl and lighter. Ushijima deadpans and is absorbed into the floor. Oikawa sits back down and looks at his blank word document. He looks at the notes on his desk and can't help but think that he could've been less of a sad bitch if he didn't have to deal with the dead all the time. He runs his hands through his hair and pulls it back into an elastic.

Having finished his short reflection, he begins to write.

“Many people have played a large role in my life  
like my mother, my father, my friends, and my teachers. However, the person who has helped shape who I am today is my late grandmother, Tomomi Oikawa. One of the most defining moments I had with her was when she said, “Tooru, you…”

__

“have a gift. You are truly someone extraordinary and you will grow up to be a very amazing person.”

Tooru looked up from his milk bread and deadpanned. At this point in his 5 year-old life, he had no hobbies and nobody to talk to except the dolls he'd found in his attic and the occasional crab he “befriended.” Tooru moved so often that friendships would hardly ever be meaningful and because he wasn't in school yet, he wouldn't even see them daily. People want to talk about fair-weather friends? Tooru only ever saw his friends when the weather was nice enough to go outside and play by the beach.

“Thank you, grandmother.”

“You don't believe me?” His grandmother leaned back on the porch and smiled, knowingly. “It's okay. One day, you will understand what I am saying to you. There will be so many that you will help.”

“Whatever you say, grandmother.”

***

Tooru hadn't seen his grandmother since that day. He was now 6 and had moved away from the Iwate prefecture. Miyagi was an odd change of pace for the small boy, but relocating always was for him. What was worse: he was beginning to hear whispers whenever he played with his volleyball.

Tooru had gotten the ball from a few older kids who were playing on the beach. He, like all children would, stared in awe at the teens who were able to jump so high and deliver the ball to each other so accurately. They'd noticed his gawking and gave him an extra ball with the message of: “Don't be such a creep and get a hobby.” Ah yes, the all-knowing wisdom of teens. (His sister always told him that she was much smarter than him because she was older, so of course, he should listen.)

He couldn't talk to the ball like all the crabs and dolls, but Oikawa was getting tired of all the pinching and silence. At least with volleyball, there was something to improve upon, something tangible, unlike those whispers and responses he wanted so badly to be real.

Today, he was setting to himself. He’d snuck onto Yuko’s old computer and began to research the volleyball scene. Setter, wing spiker, libero, and middle blocker. Setter sounded interesting. The entire game revolves on whether the setter can deliver to the others efficiently. (Granted, all of the positions were crucial to a game, but Tooru wasn't sure that his mother would want him to get scuffed up from diving and Tooru’s arms were definitely not strong enough to slam a ball down. So, setting it was.)

The boy set straight up again and again, counting for each set that was decent. “Twelve, thirteen, fourte-” the ball slipped from his hands and went behind him. He turned on his heel to grab the ball before it rolled too far. However, when he looked up at the ball sailing through the air, it made a quick stop and was zooming back at him. Before Oikawa knew it, he had been beamed on the head and was unconscious on the ground.

***  
“Makki, look at what you did. You knocked the poor kid out! How'd you even touch the ball like that?”

“If you were there to block, maybe it wouldn't have hit him.”

“I couldn't touch the ball! It'd go through me!”

Tooru groaned and sat up. He slowly peeled open his eyes and clutched his head. “That hurt.”

“Oh thank god we didn't kill a child,” voice number one sighed in relief.

“‘We?’ You were the one who hit the ball!”

“I didn't think I could actually touch it!” Oikawa blinked and focused on the two figures in front of him. They were desaturated and kind of… clear?

“Who are you guys?”

Both men gaped at the child in question. The light brown haired one put his hand over his mouth. “You can- you can see us?”

“Well yeah. I'm not blind.” Oikawa went to grab his ball by the boys’ feet. He froze when the taller boy grabbed his shoulder. A chill shot up his spine and he slapped the hand away from him. “Are you a yeti?”

The curly haired ghost got a confused look on his face. “Like the thermos?”

The other ghost elbowed him. “Like the monster, idiot.”

“Oh. No. We’re both ghosts.” Tooru looked down from their faces to their feet and screamed; They were both hovering. He tried to swivel around and run, but tripped on a root of a tree. His head hit the ground and yet again, he was knocked out.

***

“Wake up, kid.” Matsukawa poked at his cheek.

Tooru reluctantly opened his eyes. “You’re real.” His voice portrayed less wonder or shock and rather a disdain for the ghost.

The two spirits stand up straight. Hanamaki rolls his eyes and laughs dryly. “Barely, but yeah. We're actually ghosts.”

“Am I dead? Is that why I can see your stupid faces?”

“You're not dead.”

Tooru’s eyes stung with tears and he sniffed. “I hate it here.”

“Please don't start crying,” Hanamaki stated flatly.

“I'll do whatever I want! I just found out that I can see ghosts!” Tooru yelled and balled his fists.

“Kid, for all the anger you have, you really need to learn some swears. How old are you?”

Tooru scowled at the curly haired spirit. “My name is Oikawa Tooru, not kid. And I'm 6. Who are you?”

Hanamaki smirked and corrected him, “It's not about who we are, it's who we were.” The young brunette deadpanned. “Geez, tough crowd. Anyways, Hanamaki Takahiro at your service.”

“Matsukawa Issei.”

“How old are you guys?” Tooru brushed the dirt off of his pants. His mother would probably have his head later on. Stains on light colored shorts were nothing to scoff at in his household.

“Well, we both look 18ish I guess. But we died like 20 years ago,” Matsukawa recalled. At least they weren't the “born in the wrong generation” people. Then Oikawa would have to research how to kill ghosts.

“How'd you die?” Tooru asked bluntly. Maybe if he were older and didn't grow up in almost complete isolation, Tooru wouldn't be so tactless, but having no friends and no stable location did that to a kid.

The two’s laidback and light countenance was immediately smothered. “It doesn't matter.”

Oikawa flinched and looked down. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Don't worry about it.” Matsukawa patted Tooru’s back. “Now, since we've got introductions done, I can't help but notice that you play volleyball. Makki and I here love volleyball. Maybe we could give you a few tips.”

***

One year had passed since Oikawa had started seeing ghosts. It was odd watching the dead walk among the living at times, but most spirits were just following their relatives. Occasionally, Tooru would try to help them, but Makki and Mattsun were oddly wary of the other ghosts. They had guided him away from most ghosts, but sometimes when they were off doing whatever spirits do, Oikawa could interact with more of the dead.

Like this one for instance. He was out buying groceries for his mother and noticed a man in a farmer’s getup just sitting, staring on the curb. He had a blank look on his face, but there was a broken light in his glowing eyes.

Tooru glanced around to make sure nobody was watching him. “Are you okay, mister?”

The man didn't move from his disconnected state. Tooru grabbed his shoulder. “Hey country bumpkin, I asked you a question.” The farmer spirit recoiled and his eyes widened at the little boy’s touch.

“You can see me?” He asked, a touch of disbelief leaking into his otherwise monotone voice.

Tooru rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that's why I'm talking to you.”

His eyes reverted back to their normal state and he went back to staring into nothingness. “Oh.”

“So why are you sitting here?”

“I can't find my cow.”

Tooru furrowed his brow and frowned. “How long has it been since you've seen it?”

“At least fifty years.” Tooru scanned his face to check for any sign that he was joking. Nothing. He sighed and grabbed the ghost’s arm.

“Alright, well let's get looking. What's your name?”

“Ushijima Wakatoshi.”

“Let’s go then, Ushiwaka.”

“Don't call me that.”

“Quiet, I'm helping you.”

***

Tooru let the ghost lead him to an old abandoned barn a mile from his house. Most of the wooden boards were rotting and a majority of the roofing had fallen and shattered on the ground. “You know this place?”

Ushijima nodded, his eyes showing a slight sheen. “This was my barn when I was alive.”

“And you think your cow is in here?”

The ghost nodded before letting his feet sink to touch the ground. He stepped into the decrepit building and Tooru followed reluctantly, eyeing the creaky beams.

“Meushi, Meushi,” he called in one of the most monotonous calls for attention Tooru’s ever heard.

The small boy recoiled and looked slightly disgruntled. “You named your cow, “Cow?”

“Yes. The name fit her very well.”

“Oh for the love of-” Tooru muttered, “Once we’re done looking here, I'm going to get groceries for my mother. You're welcome to come with.”

Ushijima remained silent and kept up his unfeeling call for his dead cow. Could cows have ghosts? Tooru wondered. He really wasn't cut out for this altruistic lifestyle.

They stayed there for a few more minutes, but once Ushiwaka realized that his cow was not present, he exited his old residence. He plopped onto the dirt and began staring off into space again. Oikawa rolled his eyes at the edgy antics of the ghost and sat down next to him.

“Sorry that we couldn't find your cow.” And that your place is such a dump, Tooru added.

“It is okay. It's not your fault.”

“Well, obviously. I've got to go back into town for groceries. You're still welcome to hang around, I guess.” Tooru patted Ushijima on the shoulder awkwardly and got up from the soggy earth. He trekked back to the store, occasionally looking back to check if his new spirit was still following him.

When they arrived at the store, Oikawa went to the spice aisle and picked out the most expensive brand he could find for each. Who knew salt could be so bougie?

When Oikawa was picking out cabbage, he heard the call of an animal. A very large, barn animal that was standing on the linoleum floor of the produce section.

“Meushi?” Ushiwaka asked, his face portraying the most emotion Tooru had ever seen from him. The cow in question was by the lettuce and was eyeing it hungrily. Out of all places, the cow would be in a grocery store. To be fair, Tooru would rather go to a nice grocery store than Disney World, but come on, there was a perfectly good abandoned barn for the bovine to hang around. Tooru quickly grabbed his cabbage and tried to check out as quickly as possible; He might be able to ditch the farmer if he got out fast enough.

Oikawa glanced behind him in the same way a man who watches conspiracy theories all day would. A woman tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he needed help, to which he replied, “Not yet.” With that ominous statement, he grabbed his items and sped out of the store.

One may be thinking, “but Tooru, having more ghosts would be cool!” Maybe initially, but Matsukawa and Hanamaki beating his ass (he'd been brushing up on his curses as per Mattsun’s request) for breaking their rules would be very not cool. So, he took like the wind and left Mr. Bumpkin and his cow in the dust. He dropped the groceries on the table of his kitchen and ran to his room. He slammed the door behind him and slumped down.

Tooru’s breathing was erratic as he tried to calm down. Did Ushijima follow him? Where were Mattsun and Makki-

“Hey, little dude what's wrong?” Hanamaki asked as he phased through the door. Speak of the devil.

Tooru put on a strained smile and folded his hands in his lap. “Nothing.”

Matsukawa crossed his arms and frowned. “You never smile at us. Actually, you don't smile. What'd you do?”

“Thank you for finding my cow.”

Tooru shrieked as Ushijima rose through the floor, his cow in tow.

“Tooru, what's wrong?” His father called from downstairs.

“Nothing, Dad, just saw a beetle!” The boy knew his father would be disappointed that his son would be so scared of a bug, but Tooru had bigger fish to fry. Namely, the absolute unit of a ghost that had followed him home.

“Oikawa, whomst the fuck is this?”

The farmer nodded at Matsukawa. “Ushijima Wakatoshi. Pleasure to meet you.”

“What the fuck,” Hanamaki deadpanned.

As much as his two guides to the dead tried to hide it, there were some terribly violent ghosts who would try to harm Tooru if they had the chance. Ghosts couldn’t usually harm the living, but Tooru was the exception. Walking into a ghost was like walking into a person for him, which made hanging around hostile spirits dangerous. “Ushijima, you shouldn’t be here,” Tooru tried to let him down easily.

As far as Oikawa could tell, Ushiwaka wasn’t too offended, if at all. “I owe you, now that you’ve helped me out. I shall stay with you until I have repaid you.”

“Tooru, what the hell did you do?” Mattsun scolded.

“I found him on the side of the road! I thought I lost him on the way home.”

Makki pinched the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t you ever learn about stranger danger?”

Tooru blinked at him. “My mom actually encouraged me to talk to strangers because I was by myself so much.”

Both Matsukawa and Hanamaki stared at him, dumbfounded. “Do you want us to find you a therapist?”

“I’ve still got time before my childhood years are done. Plenty of time to be traumatized. I’d rather wait it out.”

Mattsun shook his head and exhaled sharply. “I’m not going to unpack that. Back to the matter at hand…” Everyone turned to look at Ushiwaka. He stared back.

Makki grinned easily and waved the farmer off. “We appreciate your offer, but Oikawa doesn’t need any favors from the dead.”

“That’s fine. I can wait until he does need a favor.”

The brunette’s smile fell and he scowled. “That won’t be necessary. Oikawa doesn’t need anything from you-“

“Tooru, your mother is home! Come down and help with dinner!”

“Okay, I’ll be down!” He quieted down as he addressed Ushiwaka. “I don’t need any favors! You can leave.” Ushijima doesn’t move as Tooru hurried down the stairs. “Hello, mother. How was work?”

She narrowed her eyes at him from behind the countertop. Was this about the excessively large amount of nutmeg he bought? Bulk is always better, anyway. “Work was fine. Why did I hear talking from your room?” Oh, it's worse.

“I was just-” he flinched as he heard yelling from his friends upstairs. “singing. They say it improves sleep.”

His mother’s eyes softened and she went back to cutting the chicken. “Are you not sleeping well?” She asked quietly.

Tooru’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, no. But sleep can never be too good, right?”

His mother nodded and looked down at the chicken. Tooru grabbed the carrots and began to rinse them. “Your father and I aren't sleeping too well. We think it might have something to do with the house.”

Tooru gulped as he turned off the faucet. “Like ghosts?”

His mother tensed as she held the knife. She nodded stiffly and continued chopping. Were Makki and Mattsun messing with his parents? He knows he complained about them not being around, but he didn't want to make their life worse.

“What- what did they look like?” The boy asked hesitantly.

“I don't know if that's important, Tooru-”

“I just want to know so if I see them- in my dreams- I can tell you.”

“I said no, Tooru.” He flinched at his mother's stern tone and ducked his head down. Then he heard the yelling.

“Stay up here!” Mattsun yelled from upstairs. All the color drained from Tooru’s face as Ushiwaka sank down onto his floor. The spirit walked around and looked over his mother’s shoulder. He looked at the spices and vegetables and bent over to read the labels.

“Pineapple goes very nicely with chicken katsu I hear.”

“Go upstairs,” he hissed at the spirit.

His mother turned away from the pan on the stove. “What'd you say, Tooru?”

Tooru grinned breezily as if their house wasn't haunted by three idiots and a cow. “Oh nothing, Mom. I was just thinking about what would be best on the carrots.”

She eyed him wearily and turned back to the stove. “Don't worry, I've got the spice set out all ready.”

Tooru’s face soured as he looked at the island. “I only see salt next to the carrots.”

She laughed at him and spoke, “Salt isn't even a spice. It's all on the other counter.” Tooru was not a very religious person, but he thanked whatever higher power that he did not have to eat whatever the hell a casserole was with some sort of non-salad “salad” on the side.

“Go set the table, Tooru. Dinner will be done in ten minutes.” Tooru nodded and began laying down placemats and utensils. He hesitantly glanced over his shoulder at his ghostly friends and did a double take at Ushijima chopping the carrots. Though, the average ghost would only be able to haunt things that used energy, like lights, fridges, blenders, all the like. Anything else would be too heavy to mess with and they most definitely couldn't be precise with their movements. However, whenever Tooru was around ghosts, they always were more powerful than usual. Hence why Makki and Mattsun were able to touch his volleyball and why Ushijima was able to use the knife.

Speaking of Ushijima, he was still chopping the carrots, quite loudly at that. Too loudly.

“Tooru, I thought I told you not to touch the knives.” His mother put her spatula down and turned to reprimand him, but saw that he was at the table. She snapped her head to the cutting board, but the knife was lying down, completely still. She let her eyes linger in Tooru for a moment more and then turned back to the skillet.

Meanwhile, Makki and Mattsun were struggling to hold Ushiwaka in a chokehold. Oikawa rolled his eyes as he heard muffled yelling and Makki and Mattsun’s grunts from the struggling. They pulled him out of the kitchen and Tooru sighed in relief. His mother turned off the heat and then began to put the food into bowls. The muffled yells turned into actual yells and Tooru smacked his hands on his ears. He hoped Ushijima Wakatoshi would soon become a thing of the past.

***  
It had been about 2 years since Ushijima had entered Tooru's life. He immediately took a liking to Tooru’s volleyball and had decided to stay, claiming that “he had been an ace when he was alive.” He was still annoying as fuck, but setting to him was good practice, Tooru had to admit.

On another note, even after he had talked to Hanamaki and Matsukawa about his parents’ nightmares, which they claimed to have no relation to, the dreams had still persisted. This could only mean that there was another ghost in the house.

Great.

His mother had been quite distressed all those years ago and both of his parents began looking more and more tired each day. He didn't even know how to get rid of ghosts! Maybe his spirits could be of use…

“Yeah we don't know how to do that,” Mattsun stated flatly. Currently, all of the ghosts were hanging out in his courtyard and trying to throw stones at trees.

“What do you mean you don't know how? You're literally ghosts!”

Makki snorted and shook his head at Tooru. “Man if you think we encountered spiritual people, you're dead wrong.” He paused his endeavor of picking up a particularly heavy stone. “Ha. Dead wrong.”

Tooru exhaled sharply and turned to Ushijima. “What about you? You lived in a small community right?”

He also shook his head. “I did not encounter many people who dealt with the dead. Unfortunately I know nothing on this topic.”

Tooru flopped onto his back and closed his eyes. He could still find out how to get rid of the specter.

“Why don't you just look it up on the internet?”

He grinned at Makki with wide eyes. “Great idea! If only I had a computer!”

“Just use your mom’s.”

“I don't want her to see that in her history.”

Mattsun rolls his eyes. “Use incognito. Duh.”

Oikawa contemptuously stared at him, his mouth slightly agape. “How does it feel to be so dumb?” Makki jeered.

Ushijima shook his head and put his hand on Tooru’s shoulder. “Oikawa is not dumb.”

Scandalized, Oikawa shook Ushiwaka’s hand off and stomped to his house. Being wrong was indeed stupid, but not getting rid of a ghost because of pettiness was more idiotic. Thus, he would deign to follow Matsukawa’s advice.

He slunk around the corners of his house until he finally approached his mother’s computer. She was out today so it wasn’t like he had to worry about her, but his father was still hanging around, probably in the basement looking through old files and organizing. He wasn’t usually allowed on a computer without supervision or a parent block on it, (which he had to give them props for) but it was quite annoying in this instance.

He quietly and carefully typed in the password and sighed, relieved she hadn’t changed it. Tooru clicked on the incognito search engine tab and typed in: “how to get rid of ghosts.” 

Thanks to capitalism, most of the top results were just overpriced books that Tooru could never hope to buy.

However, after scrolling for about twenty minutes, the site, “Top 5 Ways to Cleanse Your House!” appeared. He took a deep breath and clicked on the link.

“1. Sage.” Where was he gonna get that?  
“2. White Candles.” His parents don’t even let him use a computer, much less a lighter.  
“3. Salt.” Duly noted.  
“4. White Roses.” Okay no.  
“5. Use your voice… and the silent treatment.” That has very odd connotations, as Matsukawa and Hanamaki would say. Salt it is then.

After researching a little more, Tooru logged off and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed the bag of salt from the kitchen and got to work sprinkling it around his parents’ room, careful not to move anything as he maneuvered. Once he’d finished, he closed the door as gingerly as possible.

“What the fuck were you doing in there?”

Oikawa shrieked at the ghost that had just appeared outside the door. “Why’d you do that?”

Hanamaki shrugged and repeated, “What were you doing in there?”

“I was putting salt in their rooms so the ghost would leave them alone.”

“Oh shit, better tell the others. If we go in there, shit’ll get rough.”

“Wait you knew? Why didn’t you tell me before I had to go on my mother’s computer?” Oikawa whisper-yelled.

“It slipped my mind. Don’t worry about that. But yeah, nobody is gonna be going in there.”

“What even happens with you guys and salt?”

“We kind of just get pushed away from it, to the point that it hurts and all. It’s not a preferable state of being.” Tooru just nods as he heads towards his room. The more you know. Hopefully, his parents wouldn’t have to suffer through any nightmares tonight.

***

Okay so turns out they didn’t. But the poltergeist was definitely not happy. Hence the demonic screaming that was taking place outside of his parents’ door.

“Oikawa, wake the fuck up,” Mattsun whispered.

The child blinked sluggishly a few times before realizing what was going on. “What’s that noise?”

“That,” Makki started, while pinching the bridge of his nose, “is your parents little friend.”

Tooru groaned and sat up. He really had to deal with everything paranormal in his household. The joys of being a… seance? Was that what he was? He wasn’t very spiritual, so maybe not.

“Please take care of the boy. He is disturbing my cow.” Oikawa jumped away from Ushiwaka’s voice and rolled his eyes.

“Does your cow have a bell?”

The farmer furrowed his brows and spoke, “Yes, why?”

“Put it on.” With that, Tooru grabbed a weapon (read: a volleyball and a ruler.) and went to brave the unknown.

There was nothing that could’ve prepared Tooru for what he saw. The spirit was probably a few years older than him, maybe barely in high school, but it was hard to tell. He looked like he’d been tossed into hell a few times and then put into a frying pan for good measure. His jaw looked dislocated as he screeched endlessly and his eye sockets were empty. Blood flowed from them and Tooru nearly threw up.

“Hey!” Tooru hissed. “Be quiet!”

The ghost went quiet and his head snapped over to Tooru. His jaw dropped farther down as he began to screech even louder. “Please just be quiet! Or at least tell me why you’re here!”

“Your mother has wronged me,” he spoke in a distorted and raspy voice. “She must pay.”

“What did she do?” Tooru was so close to sobbing. He had no idea what to do for this horrifying looking phantom.

“She must pay.”

Tooru snapped him, “So you’re just going to spend the rest of her life haunting her and never letting go? Get a hobby, man. You’re dead and you have eternity, you have time to heal whatever grudge you have.”

The spirit looked oddly contemplative as he stared at the young boy. And then he began to screech again. “She must pay! She must pay!”

In a moment of genius and impulse, Oikawa threw his ruler and watched as it bounced off the poltergeist’s head. “Listen, you brat. I can’t help you get revenge if I don’t know what she did wrong. So either shut up and leave, or tell me so I can help your sorry ass.”

The ghost snapped his jaw shut and stalked towards Tooru. He leaned down and cracked his mouth open to speak. “She destroyed my grandfather’s last picture.” His voice was not as raspy and echoey this time.

Tooru deadpanned and pushed him back by the chest. “I’m sorry, what?”

“She was surveying a house. A house built on top of my old house and she stepped on the picture. It was the last picture I had of him.”

“Oh,” Tooru muttered. Honestly, his reason seemed hella petty, but he was dead. And probably alone too. Definitely alone if he decided to raise hell over a broken picture. Tooru couldn’t really understand that kind of loneliness considering he’d been raised by three- yes Ushiwaka included, even if he didn’t want to admit it- ghosts that he couldn’t seem to get rid of. “I’m really sorry. But-“ he hesitated, “But- I might be able to help you see your grandfather’s picture again.”

The spirit perked up. “Really?”

“It’s a hard maybe. Let me just get my friends and we can all work together. Okay?” He got a nod in return and sighed in tentative relief; he had no idea who his grandfather was, nor who the ghost was, so how could he find another picture?

Oikawa tiptoed back into his room and gestured all three to join him with Petty. Mattsun and Makki glanced tiredly at each other before exiting. Ushijima walked through the wall to meet the new dead person.

“Agh, why he built like that?”

Tooru elbowed Matsukawa and told him, “Don't be rude. He obviously died from-” he turned to the mutilated ghost, “How'd you die, by the way?”

There was a soft breeze in the hallway as the ghost scowled(?). “My house burnt down and fell on top of me. The portrait of my grandpa was the one of the only things left afterwards.” 

The boy could only nod uncomfortably in response before quietly walking down the stairs. Hanamaki and Matsukawa shared a meaningful look before following Tooru and the spirit down the stairs.

They entered the office of Tooru’s mother and gathered around the dim monitor. “For this to work, I've got to know your name. Or your grandfather’s name.”

There was a tense silence as everyone looked expectantly and Petty the ghost. “I don't think I quite remember my name.”

“How does that even happen?” Makki’s face was scrunched up as if he'd smelled something bad. Maybe it was burnt flesh. Or perhaps disappointment.

“When did you die?” Ushijima asked bluntly.

Petty squinted his eye sockets and only after a few seconds of silence finally came up with his answer. “Forty… years?”

Tooru sighed and went clacking away on the computer. “We’ll have to work with it.” He searched up “miyagi house fire 1960’s.” The top result was an old picture of a rickety countryside house. “Is- was this your house?”

The spirit hesitantly nodded and watched expectantly as Tooru clicked the link. As soon as the article popped up, there was a picture of a family. A teenage girl who does not want to be in the picture, two parents, a jovial, older man, and… a teenage boy who looks quite neutral to the entire situation. Mattsun tapped on the screen, pointing to the boy, and asked, “This you?”

Petty’s jaw dropped again, but rather than a dark void, there was an overwhelming light flooding from the deep cavern. His mouth was stuck in a silent scream and blood flowed from his eyes at an even faster rate than before. Oikawa swiftly scrolled down the page. “Your grandfather! His name was Kazuyo! And your name is… Kageyama Tobio!”

Kageyama’s body was blazing with golden-white light and screams poured out of his mouth. Tooru covered his face with his arm and grit his teeth. The screeching gradually turned into sobs as the light began to fade away from Kageyama Tobio.

“Thank you.” His voice was clearer than a bell and had no more echo like before. When Tooru opened his eyes, he could see vibrant blue eyes rather than the burnt sockets of before. “Thank you, Oikawa.”

“I-” he gulped as he tried to clear his dry throat, “You're welcome, Kageyama.” There was a thick silence that settled over them after that. That is until-

“What in the fucking world was that?” Makki asked flatly.

“I don't know, but maybe we could make it into a show. Call it Supernatural or something,” Mattsun replied with a halfhearted grin.

“I think,” Tooru started, “that most ghosts hang around because they regret something or feel connected to the living realm for some reason, and that sometimes, all they need is conflict resolution to move on.”

Matsukawa swung his arm around the 9 year old. “Damn, getting all philosophical, Tooru? Got any more words of wisdom?”

Oikawa locked eyes with the recently healed ghost. In a solemn voice, he stated. “Tobio, I think you're free to leave.”

The spirit looked taken aback by this revelation and seemed to give his words some thought. After a short while his response: “I don’t think I'm going to move on right now.”

“What? Why?”

Kageyama furrowed his brow and looked down. “I've been barely conscious for decades now. I've been in so much pain for so long and now I feel like I'm at peace. Any other place after this would not be any nicer than here.”

“Then what are your plans?” Ushijima cut in, with an uncharacteristic interest in the conversation.

Kageyama shrugged and got a faraway look. “I guess I could try to see what the world’s like now. Maybe catch up with any other… ghosts I know.”

“While that’s great and all,” Hanamaki gestured with his arms, “You're not sticking around here are you?”

“Yeah, we don't really need anymore bodies hanging around-”

Tobio interrupted Mattsun, “Well, the house is pretty nice and I've seen that you have a volleyball. Am I able to touch it?”

“No-”

“Yes.” Ah, Ushijima with the ever helpful remarks. “Oikawa connects us to the living realm in some way, so we are able to touch objects around him.”

Kageyama’s eyes lit up and had a small smile on his face. “Well, I guess I could stick around then.”

Matsuwaka groaned and flung himself onto Makki. “I can't keep dealing with this shit. Why do you have to help the dead so often, Tooru?”

The young seance couldn't tell if he should smile or not, recalling how his grandmother had told him that he'd be helping others at some point in his life. Laughing at the absurdity of the situation might have been more appropriate. “I guess it's just the way things are meant to be.”

There was rustling upstairs and a hall light flicked on. Tooru’s eyes widened in horror as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He exed-out of the search tab and shut off the computer before sliding under the desk, waiting for whoever was downstairs to leave.

Meanwhile, Matsukawa and Hanamaki were laughing their asses off at the sight. “You look like you're trying to hide your GameBoy under your blankets! Oh the irony!”

Oikawa Tooru could only glare at the two spirits as he waited in silence. Perhaps his new ghost friend would not be as annoying as his predecessors.

***

Kageyama is so much more annoying. God is he annoying. After Tooru’s father went back upstairs, Kageyama had dragged Tooru outside so he could set the ball. And this bitch had the audacity to be better than Tooru. Of course he was older than him, but Kageyama hadn't played in years. Years! So how was he not worse than Tooru, who played daily?

On the other hand, Mattsun and Makki were content in making fun of both Kageyama and Oikawa.

“This bitch’s personality flips like a bottle! You were literally screeching like a demon not even thirty minutes ago!” Mattsun was sitting against a tree examining his nails and glancing back at Kageyama every so often. Makki was next to him, or rather, above him, climbing a tree in the courtyard.

“I think he has a rather stable game sense,” Ushijima interjected, quite loudly, next to Matsukawa. Makki yelped as he fell from the tree and into Ushiwaka’s arms. 

“First off, get your strong arms off of me. Secondly, what the fuck do you mean, and thirdly, we seriously need to get a bell on you.”

Ushijima placed Hanamaki down gently before turning back to Kageyama, who was setting and serving with scary accuracy. “He’s very familiar with the ball and knows exactly how and where to send the ball. He's essentially a genius.”

The two spirits looked bewildered at Ushijima’s praise, considering he only ever complimented Oikawa, and even then, it wasn't even that grand.

Oikawa scowled at Ushiwaka’s observation and yelled over, “We don't know if he's a genius. He could just practice a lot.”

Kageyama stopped setting and replied with a blank face, “I was actually shown to be extremely proficient in volleyball even before my years of practice.”

Tooru let out a long string of curses before punting his volleyball at Tobio. “I'm going to bed. If any of you wake me up, I’ll kill you.”

“We have already died, Oikawa-”

Tooru shot a sharp glare towards Ushijima. “Was I not clear with my words?”

There was silence after that and only the rustling of the trees in the late summer breeze and a few cicadas whirring in the night could be heard. This summer wasn't going to last much longer, and Tooru prayed to whatever higher power that there wouldn't be anymore trouble coming his way. Anytime soon, at least.

'i' Tag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm posting this for halloween so have yourselves a spooky night! thanks for reading!


	2. The chapter where Oikawa talks to living people for the first time in years and it shows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ummmmmm  
> \- Oikawa talks with a small portion of the team, which is going to be a blend of canon teams because I like dynamics.  
> \- Enter Oikawa's sister. She's fun.  
> \- Enter Takeru. What a kid.  
> \- Woah,, Iwaizumi already? Yeah this isn't too much of a slow burn.

“Have you gotten your response reviewed yet?” Tooru’s mother asks as she slides some of her chicken onto her plate.

He nods and swallows his fried rice. “Yes. The administration was very pleased with it and has accepted me.”

She nods and continues eating her dinner. “Your second year will go very well, I’m sure. Are you going to keep playing volleyball?”

“I think so. Seijoh has a good team so I think it would be beneficial for me.”

His mother remains silent for a few moments. Tooru knew what was coming next; Every time they talked about volleyball, his knee and other issues stemming from volleyball entered the conversation. He knows that she only brought it up because she’s worried for him and her worry is valid, after all, anyone could tell that he would overwork himself at times and his mother had watched it for years. Tooru couldn't help but feel bad for pushing her away, but all he wanted to do was play without worry, without the constant reminder of his own shortcomings. He knows he could be seen as frail, but he didn't want to be reminded of it.

“I just think you should give your knee a break.”

He nearly snorts at that. “I'll be fine. I’m still wearing the brace and doing the exercises everyday.” Okay, maybe not everyday, but most days at least. The room suddenly feels a little too warm.

“Liar,” Matsukawa drawls as he appears lounging on the table. It takes all of Tooru’s self-restraint to not throw himself on the table and strangle Matsukawa, but his mother would probably take him to the doctor for yelling at the air and rolling around erratically. He didn't particularly like the doctor’s office.

“It's okay then, I suppose, just please be mindful of yourself.”

“Of course, mother.” He polishes off his plate and leaves for his room, sighing in relief once he is out of earshot.

“You suck at lying,” Hanamaki states blandly.

Tooru glances at him, unimpressed. “Well she bought it, so take your accusations elsewhere.”

“You should be doing those exercises, Oikawa.” Ushijima floats by the doorway with that ever-solemn look on his face.

“They're boring and I don't need them to play.”

“Right now, at least,” Mattsun points out as he sits down next to Makki on Tooru’s bed. “You're gonna need to do them if you want to play in the future.”

“Imagine thinking about the far future.” Tooru feels a smack to the head as he finishes his sentence. “What the fuck?”

Kageyama stares at him as he turns around. “Matsukawa told me to.”

Tooru swivels his head to look at Mattsun and Makki glaring at him. “Feel lucky you have one. All we have is past, asshole.”

Tooru sighs and closes his eyes. Of course the ghosts would be sensitive about the future. He'd learned about it years ago when he'd met all of them. “Sorry. I'm just stressed about going to a new school. Again.”

“You're forgiven, but watch yourself.” Their conversation is cut off by a knock on the door. Tooru calls a lazy “Who is it?” before the door is swiftly opened.

“Tooru, you're babysitting Takeru this week.” Ah, his graceful and elegant older sister, Miyu, breaking down his door for the fourth week in a row. That remark is only half-sarcastic, as she is actually quite graceful. She’d been skating for years and years on end, but she is not as… refined as their mother wants her to be.

“I literally have not finished unpacking.”

“I have a competition this week and Katsuo has a meeting. You’re gonna need to hang out with him on Wednesday.”

“You owe me one then,” Tooru counters and she huffs an agreement before slamming the door

“How many does she owe you now?” Makki grins as he asks.

“About 5… yeah I haven't needed anything recently so it's 5,” Tooru shakes his head and breathes a humorless laugh. Poor Takeru.

“What are you gonna do with him then? Make him unpack for you?” Kageyama asks as he swings his legs from the top of a shelf.

“No. We can go to a park or something.”

“That's lame,” Makki immediately cuts in. Oikawa’s eye twitches as he stares at the ghost. He counts to 10 and turns away from him.

“Yeah that is pretty lame,” Matsukawa agrees in a bored tone.

Oikawa walks out of the room and tells his mother he's going to practice at the school gym. She gives a hum of affirmation and he shuts the door quietly behind him.

***

Tooru never used to wonder about why he could talk to ghosts. He never asked why he was chosen, who or what had chosen him, he just knew it was a fact of his life, and he would never question it.

Now though, Tooru asks himself constantly why he has to suffer through the daily struggle of talking to people who have no one else to talk to. No one they can affect anyway.

It's too bad that Oikawa has zero other friends. “All My Friends Are Dead” is hitting differently these days.

He walks into the school building and greets the secretary before going into the gym. It's odd how low the security is in the school, but Tooru isn't about to make his day harder than it had to be.

Strangely enough, the dim lights are already on and the nets are up in the gym. There are balls scattered across the floor, some still rolling. Oikawa picks one up, and walks towards the other end of the gym. He takes a deep breath and bounces the ball.

Tooru takes note of the water bottle at the other end of the court and tosses the ball up. He runs forward and hits the ball. The bottle is knocked down and Tooru stares.

“Yeah it's a shame that Iwaizumi couldn't make it- who is that?”

Oikawa’s head snaps towards the group of boys who entered the gym. They seem to be murmuring a bit before the one with messy hair speaks up again.

“Hey there! Why the fuck are you in here?” He asks with a smile that Tooru knows isn't genuine.

“I'm just here to practice,” he replies with a breezy grin of his own.

The boy approaches him and maintains his expression. “And why are you just standing there?”

“I just served,” Oikawa glances at the fallen water bottle.

Messy Hair looks back at it and then shifts his eyes to Oikawa’s feet. “You can jump serve?”

“Sure.”

His eyes narrow for a split second before the boy turns around. “You're welcome to practice with us.”

Tooru blinks and picks up another ball. “Oh. Thanks.”

“My name is Kuroo Tetsurou. I'm a middle blocker and a second year. Are you new here? I haven't seen you around.”

“I just moved,” Tooru states shortly.

“What's your name?” A shorter kid asks.

“My name is Oikawa Tooru. I'm a second year.”

“And what position?” Kuroo asks.

“I'm a setter.”

A kid with shoulder length hair in the back of the group narrows his eyes but doesn't look up from his phone. Tooru gulps before looking back at Kuroo.

“Okay. Let's get back to practice guys. Oikawa, you can join me.”

Kuroo heads off to one of the nets and stops in the dead center of the court. He passes Oikawa the ball and nods at the boy with the mohawk. “Show us what you've got.”

Tooru stands awkwardly holding the ball. “What do you mean?”

Kuroo lets out one of the strangest laughs Oikawa had ever heard and he nearly walks over to see if Kuroo’s okay. “You're gonna set Yamamoto and me. And maybe you'll serve too if you think you can.”

Tooru furrows his brow and tightens his grip on the ball. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. When he opens them, his face is completely relaxed. He tosses the ball to Kuroo and takes a space on the court. “Throw it to me when you're ready. If you want me to change the set at all, just tell me.”

Kuroo tosses it to him and runs up. Tooru sends the ball up and it is immediately hit to the other side of the court. “Not bad. Try setting to Yamamoto next.”

Tooru tries a back set and gets directly to Yamamoto. “Sorry, I'll make it a little slower. I'm still working on those.”

The only response Tooru got back was a couple blinks and “It was good.”

After setting over and over again, Kuroo tells Tooru to serve while they take a break.

He walks to the end of the court and does his little routine for serving. After a deep breath, he runs up and hits the ball...

and it hits the net.

“Try again!” Kuroo calls from the other side of the gym.

“Where do I aim?” Tooru yells back.

“Where do you think?” Kuroo responds, not necessarily rudely.

Tooru bounces the ball a few more times and stares at the right corner of the net. Get it in just barely. He runs and jumps, hitting the ball over the net and-

On the line!

If Kuroo is impressed, he doesn't show it, simply staring, but Yamamoto runs over, asking him how he got his serve so perfect.

“Practice, I guess,” Tooru tells him, still locking eyes with the messy haired boy. They both turn away and continue on at practice.

***

“So is Kuroo the captain?” Oikawa asks Yamamoto as they both stretch on the ground.

The hitter laughs and nearly falls over. “Nah. There are a bunch more people on the team besides us five. There's like three third years, one other second year, and two first years.”

Oikawa blinks and switches to stretching his left leg. “Oh. Will I be allowed on? You guys seem to be pretty packed.”

Yamamoto guffaws and stares incredulously at him, “Are you kidding? Our setter is a first year, and while he's good, you have way more practice under your belt. Plus your serves are awesome! You could totally get girls,” he quiets down and furrows his brow, “If you got a haircut maybe.”

Tooru’s face reddens and he reaches for his tiny section of pulled back hair. “That's fine. I don't really want girls.”

“You must really love volleyball then, huh?”

Tooru nods and adds, “And men.”

“Oh cool. Our other hitter also likes dudes so maybe you guys can like, bond over that.”

That was probably the best response Tooru could have hoped for. “Thanks for the tip.” He stands up and fist bumps Yamamoto. “And thanks for practicing with me. I'm excited to talk to your coaches and captain.”

Taketora grins and shakes his head. “No problem, bro! You're super cool so I had a good time.” Tooru gives a small grin and a little wave goodbye to the gym.

***

The night is cool as Tooru walks home, and he curses himself for not wearing a jacket. As he approaches his neighborhood, he hears hollering from inside his house.

Tooru rushes up into the house and greets his mother and father before running up into his room. When Oikawa enters, he realizes that he didn't take into account that there was probably no trouble, just idiocy.

“Kageyama! Get away from the sage,” Hanamaki yells from behind Ushijima, who is seemingly unbothered by the situation. 

“Yeah what you cast us all out by accident?” Matsukawa asks from behind Makki.

Kageyama scoffs and fiddles nervously with the lighter in his hand. “I'm not gonna set anything on fire, you idiots.”

“I'm proud of you for facing your fears, Kageyama.You are showing great courage right now,” Ushijima smiles slightly, and Oikawa is unnerved by the expression.

“Hey guys! What are you doing?” Tooru asks with a smile and an artificially sweetened tone.

Kageyama jumps and accidentally throws the lighter. It hits the potted sage and the ceramic shatters on the bedroom floor. The lighter lies next to it in a similar state, the shell in pieces and the fluid spilling out onto the plant.

Tooru blinks at the mess. “Thank you for killing my plant.”

“You're welcome,” Ushijima replies, sounding almost proud of what had happened.

Makki and Mattsun lock eyes and then phase out of the room. Kageyama isn't much better when he jumps out the window.

“Can you leave, now?” Oikawa asks over his shoulder, exasperated as he begins picking up shards of the pot.

“No. How did your trip go?”

“I went to volleyball practice at Seijoh. Everyone seems nice. This one kid gave me the creeps, though.”

Ushijima gets a peculiar look on his face, amused by this idea. “You're scared of a high schooler?”

Tooru’s ears turn red and he ducks his head down further. “It sounds stupid when you put it that way. I'm not scared, but his… vibes are off.”

“Vibes? Like vibrations? Don't you have rocks for that?”

Oikawa huffs out something between a laugh and a scoff. “They're crystals and that's not really what I meant. He just… acted strangely towards me. Sort of competitive I guess, but he's not even a setter.”

“His difference in position doesn't mean he cannot and will not be threatened by you. You are an exceptional player.”

The boy on the ground stops and stares straight at the ground. “You think so?”

“Yes. I would have wanted you on my team.” Ushijima pauses. “Maybe you should have been born in my era instead of this one.” The warmth in Tooru’s soul is replaced with unbridled rage.

“Take your Beatles elsewhere, farmhand.” Ushijima furrows his brow, but takes his leave (he didn't have any bugs to bring with him though?).

***

On Wednesday, Tooru has zero patience to spare. Maybe it's the idea of going to school soon, or maybe it's the fact that his sister dropped Takeru off at 6 AM and pissed off their parents, but he is unable to have any of it.

So naturally, when Takeru begins bugging him, as young boys tend to do, Tooru responds in the best way possible.

“How much could I pay to cease talking?”

Takeru studies his uncle, who looks tired and sickly even in the golden lighting of the rising sun. “Depends.”

Tooru doesn't know who the fuck taught his nephew to barter, but he knows nothing good is coming their way in the near future. “On what?” 

“What are we gonna do today?” The boy asks with a smirk; He knows he's already won whatever battle he's fighting.

“We're going to the park. We can feed whatever birds are there if you want.”

“Can we play volleyball there?” Of course he'd ask.

Tooru makes a few unintelligible noises and waves his head side to side. He sharply exhales once and hesitantly replies, “How much do I have to pay you to let me sleep, again?”

Takeru laughs and tells him, “You never said sleep, you told me to be quiet.”

“Then no volleyball.”

Takeru’s laughter stops and he gets a serious look on his face. “I'll tell my sister that you taught me how to say ‘fuck you.”

Tooru’s jaw drops and he stares at his devious nephew. He looks around to make sure his parents aren't up and whisper-yells, “Where did you learn to say that?”

He shrugs and winks conspiratorially. “I'm not a tattle tale, not usually at least. I'm willing to make exceptions to make this deal, though.”

Tooru bangs his head against the table and wonders for a second why none of his ghost friends taught him this kind of useful stuff. He scoffs and leans back in his chair. “Fine, but if you hit someone once, we're leaving.”

***

Possibly by some higher power’s grace, Tooru actually got to sleep a little before his parents woke up and gave permission for them to go to the park. Takeru was content with watching volleyball reruns on his oversized iPad with a blue rubber case and the volume up to high. Tooru almost rocked his nephew’s shit for the disturbance before he realized that he could just give Takeru some headphones. He had taken them begrudgingly, but taken them nonetheless. (His inner uncle told him that he should probably be concerned for Takeru’s hearing but the rest of him said that kids just have no respect for their surroundings. This was fine.)

Tooru feels well rested and almost happy when he walks to the park, a ball in Takeru’s hands and a phone in his own. The band of spirits trail behind them, occasionally blowing on Takeru’s hair and messing with his shoelaces a little.

“Tooru, how are you not cold?”

Tooru hums and sticks his phone in his pocket. “What?”

Takeru zips up his jacket and looks around. “There's a breeze.”

Tooru brought a hand to his face and stroked his chin jokingly. “Well, I don't feel it. Whatever is making you feel cold, better cut it out.” He grits out the words at the end and shoots a sharp look at the spirits behind them. Ushiwaka grabs Makki and Mattsun by the backs of their shirts and pulls them away. Makki tries to ground himself by holding onto Kageyama, but he only succeeds in dragging him too.

Takeru stares at him and then sighs before speeding up a little, leaving his uncle in the dust. Tooru rolls his eyes and walks slightly faster to catch up with his nephew, who is already near the park entrance.

“Takeru, slow down, or I'm taking you home and telling your mother that you cursed me out.”

“Tooru, what the fuck?”

Tooru glares at him. “Takeru.”

His nephew looks down and actually looks ashamed. “Sorry.” Tooru pats him on the back and they continue walking towards the sandy court on the edge of the boundaries. The once luscious grass is browning and there are leaves scattered on the sand, but the boy on the court stands out the most.

He’s definitely around Tooru’s age but his face looks like it’s been hardened by life years beyond his own. His hair is spiky and a little sweaty, which is a bit off-putting in the cold weather. His physique is… something else, which is demonstrated when he lands from his jump and sand explodes under his feet. Oikawa can’t help but simply stare.

“Hey, Mister! Get off of the fu- I mean the court! We’re gonna play here!” Takeru yells at the kid and Tooru feels himself shut down when he turns his head to look at the duo.

“What?” The boy doesn’t even sound angry, just confused. Unfortunately, God didn’t build fear into Takeru’s nervous system, and so the one-sided argument continues.

“You heard me.”

The boy looks to Tooru for some explanation and all he can supply is a shrug and a curt, “I don’t know.” He grumbles and looks back at Takeru.

“We can both play if you want? I’m not leaving.” Takeru scowls a little mood and after a little consideration, decides that it’s okay. He drags Oikawa onto the court and starts setting to himself angrily. Okay then.

“You should talk to that guy. See if he goes to your school,” Makki suggests from close behind him. Tooru screeches and both Takeru and the guy stare at him for a minute before going back to playing.

“I’m not going to talk to him,” he murmurs. Takeru decides to ignore his uncle this time. “What would I even say to him? ‘Hey, I play volleyball and you have large arms?’”

The guy whips his head towards Tooru. “What the hell did you just say?” Mattsun grins and slaps Tooru on the shoulder and gives him a discouraging “good luck.”

“I play volleyball,” Tooru forces out with a straight face. “I asked what your name is.”

“Iwaizumi Hajime.” And he goes back to jumping and shit. Tooru is kind of curious about Iwaizumi, but at the same time, he did not have the capacity to start a conversation on purpose. Luckily, he didn’t have to.

“What position do you play, Iwaizumi?” Takeru asks suddenly.

“Outside hitter. You?”

Takeru wipes the sweat off his brow, which, again, is a little weird, but Tooru has just been chasing an occasional stray ball, so he has no place to judge. “Don't know yet. Tooru is a setter though. And he's really good.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widen and his eyes shoot to the older Oikawa. “Oikawa Tooru?”

Oikawa narrows his eyes and peers into the hitter’s eyes. “Why do you ask?”

He harshly chuckles and responds, “You really rubbed one of our middle blockers the wrong way and it was entertaining. I think I'd make the captain to let you on the team just for that.”

Tooru relaxes his face and straightens his posture. “I can play well enough to get on the team without your help, but I appreciate the thought.”

Iwaizumi’s laughter quiets down and he gives Tooru a once-over. “You sure are confident.”

The setter scoffs and rolls his eyes in an attempt to be lighthearted. “Hardly.”

Iwaizumi looks askance at Tooru and then directs his attention to a very interesting tree. Guess that one didn't land. A shame really, the awkward boy thinks., He was hoping that there wouldn't be any more self-deprecating kids on the god forsaken team.

Iwaizumi clears his throat and asks, “So you're a setter? Anything special about you?”

Tooru turns his head and laughs. “That's quite forward.”

“Just curious.”

“I suppose I'm okay at adapting. I've also got an okay jump float serve.”

Iwaizumi shakes his head and closes his eyes, “Damn.” They shoot open almost instantly. “Can I say that in front of him?”

“You already cussed earlier, and I'm pretty sure he knows more than me, so-”

“I'm right fucking here. Act like it,” Takeru nearly shouts. A few heads turn to the group of boys. Mattsun and Makki are laughing their lungs dead. Tooru’s new acquaintance has a mixture of shock and amusement written all over his face.

“Yeah, go for it,” he finishes with an easy grin.

Iwaizumi nods his head slowly. “Okay then. Do you want to play?”

“Play what?” Oikawa asks smartly.

“Volleyball, stupid!” Takeru hits him in the stomach and Tooru doubles over and tries not to fall over. When he recovers, he smirks down at his nephew.

“Yeah okay, I'll play. One on two, or do you want me to set to you?”

“One on two is good. He can be on my team.” Iwaizumi gestures to Takeru who suddenly looks a lot more excited to be at the park. Disloyal child.

Tooru shrugs and turns to get into his position. “Yeah, okay. I'll start with the ball then.”

He takes the ball that was left in the sand by Takeru and walks to behind the serving line and shakes the ball in hand. Bouncing it would only make him look stupid if it were to bounce away, after all. He takes a quick breath and sends the ball over the net with a simple overhand serve.

He doesn't want to give away all of his tricks yet.

Iwaizumi easily receives it and sends it to Takeru, who is eager to score on his uncle. Tooru snorts at the look on his face and sets the ball back over, further back from where the two are standing.

Takeru sprints and dives, passing the ball up very high. Iwaizumi spikes the ball and Tooru shakes his head with a small smile. Guess he’d have to pull out at least a few stops.

Takeru gets to serve and decides to play it safe with an underhand serve. Tooru sends the ball back with some spin. Makki and Mattsun are cheering from  
next to him like proud fathers. He winks at them and when Iwaizumi hits it, Tooru blocks the ball, although it's a bit clumsy. His opponent scoffs, lightheartedly, he thinks.

“Kuroo may have had a point about you. You're quite… unique.”

Tooru grins wryly and replies, “I'll take that as a compliment.” He catches the volleyball that Iwaizumi throws to him.

The volleys continue until Oikawa is losing 17 to 12. Not an impossible game, but definitely not an easy one. It's 2 versus 1 for crying out loud. And, he trained one of them. Quite unfortunate, indeed. The tide of the game only turns when Takeru sends an easy pass over the net to him.

Tooru takes a deep breath and tries his hand at a hit from directly over the net. He manages to strike the ball and send it over, just barely. Iwaizumi is apparently a little too quick and immediately blocks the ball. Tooru dives and pancakes his hand. This was going to hurt so bad.

Honestly what hurt worse than a pancake on uneven ground was the fact that he couldn't even position himself correctly. He was 3 inches off. What the fuck.

Somehow, the ball still goes up. Tooru stares at Kageyama, who was parallel to him, lying on his stomach. Neither Takeru or Iwaizumi can recover the ball, and Tooru gets that point. They silently give Tooru the ball.

He takes it and does another regular overhand serve and manages to get 3 points in row. Not aces, though. Obviously.

In the end, though, he loses. Obviously. Nobody expected him to win. Tooru’s not sure that Iwaizumi even expected him to do well.

Takeru gloats and sticks his tongue out while his teammate reaches out for a hand shake.

“Good game, Oikawa. You did better than I expected. No offense, but I couldn't expect our libero to dive like that after hitting. It was… impressive. I'll put in a good word with the team and the coaches.”

Oikawa takes his hand and his face remains neutral. “Oh, um. Thanks.”

Iwaizumi pulls away and grabs his ball and bag. “I should probably get going now. See you around.”

“Uh , yeah. I'll see you.” He watches Iwaizumi walk away with his phone in hand. Wow.

“We beat you so bad, Tooru!” Takeru pulls Tooru’s gaze away from the boy.

“Not true. You only won by like, 6 points. You had another person.”

“We were going easy on you,” his nephew protests.

“Oh, I'm sure. It's lunchtime by the way. We should head home.”

“Good. I'm starving.”

***

Takeru eats lunch quickly and is thankfully extremely tired from terrorizing Tooru all morning. He falls asleep watching videos on his family computer and Tooru’s shoulders finally relax once he hears his soft snores.

He goes to his room and takes a look at the ghosts hanging out in his room. There are only two. What.

“Where are Matsukawa and Hanamaki?”

“They followed Iwaizumi home,” Kageyama replies casually.

Tooru’s jaw drops. He shouldn't be surprised but a new low for them.

“They were actually following this ghost connected to Iwaizumi. Very scary spirit.”

“Wait, why did I see the ghost?”

“They were hiding from you.”

Tooru scowls and pinches the bridge of his nose. “No shit, Ushijima. Why were they hiding?”

“Maybe they're scared of confrontation? There are a lot of us.”

Tooru thinks for a moment about Kageyama’s words and realizes that even if that's a rational suggestion, it's probably wrong considering the speaker.

“I guess it doesn't matter until they come back. We need to talk about something else anyways.” Oikawa faces Kageyama and scowls. “Why did you cheat and send the ball over?”

“I didn't want you to lose the point.”

“Cheating isn't the answer!” Tooru virtually yells at the setter.

Ushijima grabs Tooru by the shoulder. “Don't yell at him. I was the one who told him to.”

“What?” He feels like he's been punched in the stomach all over again.

“I didn't want you to lose that point.”

“But… But the point didn't even matter! And you were cheating! I'm enough on my own!”

“You were losing 12 to 16?”

“17,” Tooru murmurs. “I could have done it on my own. Why didn't you believe in me?”

“I do believe in you, Oikawa Tooru,” Ushijima states solemnly.

“Then why would you cheat to help me?”

“I didn't want to see you lose. But I was wrong. I'm sorry.”

Tooru reached out to hug him and he blinked away a few unshed tears.

“I want my achievements to be my own. I don't want to cheat.” Ushijima hugs him back and responds,

“I understand. I suppose I just remembered what it was like to lose and I wanted to help you. You are a great volleyball player, Tooru. I wish I could have had you on my team.”

Kageyama pipes up awkwardly from the corner, “Honestly, I wouldn't have wanted you on my team. You would've taken my spot eventually. Or we would have been arguing all the time. You're a great setter. I wish I could have been more like you when I was playing.”

Tooru breaks the hug to snort and grin at him. “You always know what to say, huh?”

Kageyama blushes and looks away. “Says you. You’re really bad at interacting with people.”

“It's not my fault that you guys are all attention whores.”

“That's rude, Tooru,” Ushijima chastises.

“Yeah alright, Ushiwaka. You're only mad ‘cause it's true.”

“No.” Tooru rolls his eyes and laughs.

“Whatever. I'm in a good mood. Let's go play volleyball until Takeru wakes up.”

The three pepper the ball for a while, waiting for Makki and Mattsun to return. Tooru wonders how they're doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm an update for the new year literally two months after the first one? Y'all the slow updates tag is there for a reason. What a chapter.   
> By the way, if y'all have Thoughts™ on the characterization,,, understand that circumstance is key. Remember that Oikawa and Iwaizumi were never childhood friends in this AU, so it would make sense that they act a little differently. Anyways, hope you enjoyed :)


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